Ronald Opland

Ronald Opland, 90,

Minot, formerly of Des

Lacs, died Wednesday,

December 30, 2020 in a

Minot care facility.

Ronald Duane Opland

was born May 27, 1930 in

Drady, ND, the son of

Leonard and Alice (Peter-

son) Opland. He was

raised and educated in

Des Lacs, ND where he at-

tended country school

and graduated from Des

Lacs High School in 1947.

Ronald was united in

marriage, to the love of

his life, Maybelle Willi-

ams on June 16, 1949 in

the Evangelical United

Brethren Church, Des

Lacs. They were blessed

with six children. They

made their home on the

family farmstead south of

Des Lacs, where they be-

gan farming and ranching

in Rolling Green Town-

ship in 1949. They raised

livestock and small

grains. They operated the

farm until it was passed

down to their three sons:

Stan, Doug and Stewart.

In 1985 they moved off

the farmstead and built a

house just south of Des

Lacs and resided there un-

til moving to Minot in

2005. While farming he

was a field supervisor for

Federal Crop Insurance in

NW North Dakota and

NAU for over 30 years. He

remained in crop in-

surance well into his

eighties as he continued

to be a mentor to his

granddaughter Dani, who

followed in his footsteps.

Ronald was a member

of Rose Valley Lutheran

Church, rural Des Lacs

where he was involved in

the church council. He

was also a member of the

Rolling Green Township

Board, ASC Board for

nine years, North Prairie

Rural Water Board for

eighteen years. He en-

joyed hunting, fishing and

visiting with people. Over

the years he and Maybelle

were found almost every

day eating and visiting at

Schatz Truckstop, where

the staff became like fami-

ly.

Ronald lost a part of his

heart on July 29, 2016

when Maybelle went to

her eternal home.

Ronald was a loving

Husband, Father, Grand-

pa, Papa, Great-Grandpa,

and Great-Great Grandpa

and will be missed by all

who shared in his life.

Those cherishing

Ronald’s memory include

his children: Stan (Shel-

ley) Opland, Lynnette

(Todd) Deardurff, Teresa

(Mike) Sundsbak, Doug

(Debbie) Opland, all of

Des Lacs, Kylene (Curt)

Askvig, Minot and

Stewart (Stacy) Opland,

Williston; grandchildren:

Amy (Dan) Lewis, Minot,

Adam Opland, Des Lacs,

Jefferson Deardurff, Des

Lacs, Lynsey (Dwayne)

Bechel, Minot, Josh (Josie)

Sundsbak, Des Lacs, Dani

(Dan) Schilla, Makoti, Jes-

sica (Brady) Carpenter,

Ashley Opland, both of

Minot, Chelsey Opland,

Des Lacs, Cassandra and

Kali Askvig, Bismarck and

Gunnar and Kensil Op-

land, Williston; great-

grandchildren: McKenna

and Annika Deardurff,

James, Devyn, Zaedyn,

Lyzibella and Ayrianna

Bechel, Madison, Peyton

and Xander Sundsbak,

Kinley and Jase Schilla

and Hadley and Lucille

Carpenter; great-great

grandchildren: Ari and

Violet Bechel along with

numerous nieces and

nephews.

Ronald was preceded in

death by his parents Leo-

nard and Alice, wife May-

belle, sister Berleen

Schmidt, infant sister

Emma Jean and

brother-in-law James

Schmidt.

Private Family Celebra-tion of Life Service: 11:00

a.m. Tuesday, January 5,

2021 at Rose Valley Luth-

eran Church, rural Des

Lacs. To view a lives-

tream of the service or to

share memories and con-

dolences visit www.

thomasfamilyfuneral

home.com. You may also

attend the service from

the church parking lot in-

side your vehicle by tun-

ing your radio to FM

107.5

Interment: Rose Valley

Lutheran Church

Cemetery, rural Des Lacs.

Public Visitation: Mon-

day, January 4, 2021 from

3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

in Thomas Family Funeral

Home, Minot. Social dis-

tancing and facial cover-

ings are recommended.

Memorials are preferred

to Rose Valley Lutheran

Church or Rose Valley

Lutheran Church

Cemetery Endowment

Fund.